A report submitted to the House of Commons heritage committee says the federal Online News Act contributed to a loss of credible local news on Facebook during wildfire emergencies, with rural communities particularly affected.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia, examined how the disappearance of Canadian news content from Facebook affected communities during wildfire events.
The report, When Good Intentions Cause Harm: The Online News Act, Meta’s News Ban And Public Safety During Wildfire Emergencies, focuses on several B.C. communities and looks at the impact of Meta’s decision to block Canadian news content from Facebook and Instagram.
The move followed the federal government’s passage of Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act. The legislation was intended to require major digital platforms to negotiate compensation agreements with Canadian news organizations for news content shared on their services.
Meta opposed the legislation and subsequently blocked news content from its platforms in Canada.
According to the UBC researchers, the change had significant consequences in smaller and rural communities, where Facebook had become an important source of information during emergencies.
The researchers argued that the loss of local journalism was especially problematic during wildfires, when residents need timely and trustworthy information about evacuation orders, alerts, road closures and other developments.
“Rural B.C. communities lost access to credible journalism at the precise moment they needed it most,” the researchers wrote, arguing that the situation had implications for public safety, public trust and compliance with emergency directions.
The report found that the removal of professional news coverage did not result in Facebook becoming an information-free environment. Instead, posts from individuals continued to circulate, with researchers arguing that emotionally charged content could receive greater attention and contribute to anger, speculation and conspiracy theories.
Researchers attributed the information gap to several factors, including declining trust in institutions, social media algorithms and the loss of professional journalism from Facebook.
The report also raised concerns about the changing nature of mainstream wildfire coverage. With fewer local journalists available to provide on-the-ground reporting and established relationships with communities, news organizations were increasingly reliant on government agencies and other official sources.
According to the researchers, this could result in coverage that focused heavily on whether residents were following emergency instructions rather than documenting the experiences and concerns of people directly affected by wildfires.
The findings point to what researchers described as an unintended consequence of the Online News Act. While the legislation was intended to address the financial challenges facing Canadian journalism, particularly those created by changes in the digital advertising market, its implementation was followed by the removal of Canadian news from one of the country’s most widely used social media platforms.
The report has renewed discussion about the role of local journalism in rural communities and how residents receive critical information during emergencies.
The findings were first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, an independent Canadian news organization that has opposed the Online News Act. The outlet has argued that the legislation represents federal intervention in Canada’s news market and says it did not seek or accept payments made available through the legislation.
